Thanks lobsterrific! It's good to know that there are not-so-fast runners amongst triathlon trainees too

Was planning to hit the gym tonight, but after having had toothache for the last 2 days in different stages of agony, I've woken up with a really sore leg this morning - almost feels like my femur's gone out of its socket and back again but not quite right. Strange I know. I've been to the dentist for the teeth, but she found nothing untoward, and I woke up with sore teeth too! As I appear to have a habit of going to bed just fine and then waking up with all sorts of unexplained aches and injuries it would almost make a case for insomnia - but I'm too tired for that

So nothing tonight, but the weatherforecast for tomorrow looks really good so me n dogs, and my new best friends Ibuprofen and Paracetamol will be going for a day out and go for a long walk. If I'm still on my feet on Sunday I'll then hit the gym for said workout and maybe even fit a run in (steady now Billy, you're not 18 anymore! )

My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. - Aunty Francis

Been for a really nice, long walk today (plm 10 miles) over the moors and through the woods and thought I'd share some pics:

My little girl Kiera

My little man Sparky

"And now whatcha gonna do?" After having cleared this massive puddle by either jumping over or going straight through, 'the guys' (as I call them) were interested to see how their 'not-so-agile' human would negotiate the wet and the mud

This is what it looks like where we walk:

There are deer in the park, but I've never seen them this close and so not bothered by humans and dogs (on lead!) approaching them. The pictures don't do them justice, they were beautiful!

We're now waiting for the slow cooker to finish cooking our curry and then I anticipate a whole evening of doing nothing at all - seeing as the guys have already gone off to bed that seems a safe assumption!

My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. - Aunty Francis

Been good this morning and already to the gym; gym on a Sunday morning at 9 o'clock is blissfully deserted!

Did 10 mins warm up on rower2x10 lunges @ 2x5 kgs BB2x10 squats @ bar + 10 kgs (after I mistakenly thought that the 5kgs total from last week was a 2x5 kgs plate - DOH! )2x10 calf press @ 32 kgs2x12 crunches on swiss ball - those weighed decline crunches last week were a mistake! My abs still hurt so bad I couldn't even do decline crunches without added weight! Got to remember to kinda take it easy, patience isn't my biggest virtue ....

Am now having porridge, then will have to do the weekly shop - if that bloody van that's just parked up and blocked my van is gonna move soon or else I'll be going nowhere! - then dog walk and if I've not collapsed by then I'm contemplating doing a little off road run with Sparks. Happy Sunday!

My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. - Aunty Francis

Sunday turned out a bit different than planned: while playing football with Kiera I managed to hit the floor with my toe with all my strength - ouch!!! Sunday night it hurt so much that I tought I'd broken it, so bandaged it up and hobbled round on it on Monday, hoping that it would heal on its own accord. Tell you what: homoeopathic arnica is amazing! 3 of those little pills and my foot only plays up a little bit every now and then - what a relief.

I'm taking it easy on the running for this week tho, don't fancy being halfway and finding out that it hurts too much to continue and then having to walk back in the freezing cold.

Today was a bit of a pants day: some of you might maybe remember Malcolm (the first half of my nick). He was my best mate for 7.5 years before he sadly died of cancer in May of this year. I still miss him every day, and today would have been his 8th anniversary with me. Felt rotten all day thinking about him...

Did go to the gym tho, tweaked my workout a bit, changing upper/lower body to chest/shoulders/abs one day and legs/back/abs the other day. Reason being that I wanted to balance things out a bit better and while working my legs is my least favourite, working my back is my most favourite, so by combining those I'll have something to look forward to, if that makes sense.

On Saturday nights people usually have other things to do that involve going out etc. I'm not one of them so I hit the gym instead, after a rather treacherous trek on foot over slippery grey mush - I like the look of fresh snow, but I hate the slippery side effects!

Found that my foot is still quite tender, must have caused myself a hairline fracture or summat, and kinda twisted the knee on the same leg while negotiating the mush. This week has not been good for legs! So after trying a set of lunges I decided that nothing decent would come of it, so did upper body instead:

24/7 Gyms that are open on Xmas day are the best thing since sliced bread!!

Wanted to finally go for a run today, as both foot and knee have finally recovered. Unfortunately the UK has been hit by lots of snow and ice, and it's impossible to walk anywhere fast, leave alone run in places, so off to the gym for the next best thing: a run on the treadmill.Also, while my foot and knee have recovered, I've now got a massive tooth/jaw infection and I've spent the last 3 days on painkillers and antibiotics, after a visit to the dentist. I'm sure I rattle when I run! Pain killers don't always sedate the infection completely tho, and definitely pounding the treadmill brought out the worst. Still managed to do 30 mins @ 8.8km/h, which is better than nowt ... It's going to take me a long time to get anywhere near my goal of 6 miles in under an hour tho, bugger

Woohoo!!Been out for my first run in weeks - due to all sorts of aches and pains that stopped me, not to mention iced up roads, grrr - and it felt great!! Tried a different route again, which took me along 90% ice free pavements, almost no need to stop, and it felt so good that I ran further than planned. Okay, this is still a pathetic distance compared to all you marathon runners, but I was VERY made up to do 3 miles in just over half an hour! I think I did between 11-12 minute/mile, and I'm REALLY happy with that!! Can't wait now for the days to become longer and warmer again (ice-free would be a good start! ), and really go for running with Sparky

My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. - Aunty Francis

LOL at Chewybaws! I'm sure that at some point next year you will see dark, non-slippery spots appear amidst the snow: that's pavement Just found that it's been 10 whole days since I've done an upper body workout - shameful! Resolution: to do another upper body workout before the end of the year!

My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. - Aunty Francis

Last night, new year's eve, people were out and about doing last minute hurried shopping and on their way to all sorts of celebrations ... and I felt like a run! So off I pootled, was away for half an hour and must've done about 2.5 miles or summat. Still not much improvement in terms of time, but I do notice that I have to stop less and less - which is progress, so happy with that This morning I walked into an empty gym - 10 AM on 1. January, go figure. Soon enough there were 2 or 3 other people tho, but obviously it was far from crowded.Did:

Pffffffff, more snow and more ice - no way can I have a decent run at the moment! Went to the gym instead for another workout, that way at least some part of me will improve at some point

15 mins treadmill @ 8.5 km/h2x10 chins @ 45 kgs1x10 bench @ bar + 5 kgs1x8 bench @ bar + 5 kgs - failed last 2. Felt quite shaky and not very secure without a spotter, so decided to not take the risk and make an idiot of meself, the gym was packed! 2x10 mil press @ 10 kgs BB2x10 rotator cuff @ 1 kg DB1 min plank2x30 secs superman2x10 decline sit ups with 2.5 kgs plate - my abs will make me pay for that in the coming days I expect!Good workout, one of those where you get shaky legs and all that, although I'm not entirely sure whether that was because of working hard or not the greatest of diets I've not reached a point yet though where I really want to take care of what I'm eating and keep a food diary and all that. We'll see if and when that happens ...

My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage. - Aunty Francis